THE BBC'S RUSSIAN SERVICE
SIR,—Mr. P. J. D. Wiles and Professor H. Seton- Watson have introduced a number of interesting points concerning the BBC broadcasts to Russia, but they call for a quantity of information which, I think they will agree, exceeds the scope of your correspondence columns. We shall be glad to make available to them the texts of our broadcasts and, subject to the normal copyright considerations, Mr. Wiles is at liberty to publish any or all of it.
Although Pharos regards the first-hand study of material on which he is commenting as an 'impossible condition,' the fact remains that to evaluate a broad- casting service of this kind, a comprehensive study is essential.
May I add that Professor Seton-Watson's observa- tion on the subject of broadcasts in Ukrainian and in languages of the Soviet Union other than Russian does not fall within the competence of the BBC. The languages employed and the time devoted to them are prescribed by the Government.—Yours faithfully, A. EARLEY Chief Publicity Officer, Europe The British Broadcasting Corporation
[Pharos writes: 'While grateful for the markedly more courteous tone of Mr. Earley's latest letter, I wish his courtesy had extended to answering at least some of the questions asked last week by Mr. Peter Wiles, Professor Seton-Watson and myself. They could have been answered quite shortly and without much research; Mr. Earley has decided—no doubt wisely—to evade them. Mr. Wiles tells me that he accepts Mr. Eearley's offer to make the texts of the broadcasts available.'--Editor, Spectator.]
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